Well, while you CRAZY women are talking about TTC #2, I'm starting to settle in with Madeline. (you're all NUTS, LOL) Figured since she's sleeping this morning, and DH ran out to do some errands, I have a few minutes to type up our birth story.
Wednesday - as you girls know, went to OB, did the sweep, whatever you want to call it. Wasn't feeling anything that night, spent the evening bouncing on the ball, etc.
Thursday AM - woke up, went to the bathroom, huge mucous loss, bloody (as to whether or not it was related to the sweep, who knows). Wasn't feeling very hungry, but figured I should eat SOMETHING, so had a piece of toast and a yogurt. Went back to bouncing on the ball while watching TV with DH.
As I was sitting on the ball, I started getting a knot-like feeling by my right shoulder blade. Now, I've HAD this pain for the last few weeks, figured it was muscular. DH would try and massage it out, which never really helped. This time, the feeling was DIFFERENT. More like pins-and-needles and twisting than just muscular-sore. Then the feeling would disappear, and I would get the pins-and-needles sensation across the top of my stomach, like a band. Started timing it at 957am; I was having the sensations every 7 minutes. At 11, I called my OB, and she said to come right to the office.
1115am - get to OB's office (she was closed for the day), she did a quick check, and I was still the same as the day before, but she said the feelings were definitely contractions. Said the feeling in the shoulder was because Madeline was up so high, she was putting pressure on my diaphragm and irritating it (makes sense, because when your gallbladder is inflamed, you get referred pain in your right shoulder...ANYWAY)...
She asked me if I wanted to go home and walk around, wait for things to really kick in, or if I wanted to go to the hospital and get things moving. DH and I opted for the hospital, and she told us to be there by 1230.
1230pm - arrive in L&D. Got hooked up to the monitor. Contractions about every 3-5 minutes, but very weak. Discussed with OB, decided to go ahead and augment labor with Pitocin to help the contractions gain strength and bring Madeline down.
130pm - Pitocin started at 2ml/hr. Was told that the nurse was to increase it by 2ml every 20 minutes until contractions were steady or a max rate of 20ml/hr.
That's where things got complicated. I had a VERY nice older nurse (mid-50s), who was very sweet, but seemed to be more into her coffee break than titrating the drug. I hit steady contractions at 2 minutes apart by 4pm, and she didn't come back in for an hour. By that time, the Pitocin had leveled off in my system, and I wasn't feeling the contractions. I was also only at 8ml/hr (considering 5 or 6 time periods had gone by, and she had only bumped it three times). OB came in and was NOT happy. She upped the dose herself to 10, got the nurse, brought her in, and said that she HAD to increase it every 20 minutes. OB said she was going home, and would be back later that evening to check on me, but that she would be calling in every hour.
6pm - not feeling contractions.
7pm - not feeling contractions. DH was out at the desk every 25-30 min "reminding" the nurse to increase the drug. We were up to 14, but with so long in between, I was barely feeling it. The new nurse came in - one of those older, seasoned nurses with the "Don't mess with me" attitude, and hardly any bedside manner. Call me crazy, but those are my favorites. She increased the drip as ordered until we hit 20, and by then, the contractions were back, and a minute apart.
8pm - good contractions, now 1 min apart, and starting to get painful. Only felt it in my low back, rectum and vagina. NOTHING in my belly.
9pm - now every 30 seconds apart, lasting 70-80 seconds, and definitely more painful. Not able to talk thru them, and as they were so close together, breathing thru it was all I cold do.
930pm - OB came back - checked me, I was dilated at a 5, 100% and Madeline was -2. Asked if I wanted the epidural, to which I said YES.
Anesthesia came in (not realizing I worked in the hospital), dumbed down all the info about an epidural (don't care, I'm fine with it). Placed it very quickly, and hooked up the Fentanyl. Contractions still coming hard and quick, and the pain wasn't touched. As I repositioned back in bed from the epidural placement...
945pm - water broke. Oh, that was gross. I am SO glad that didn't happen at home. Felt like someone dropped a warm wet water balloon out into my lap. Weird feeling. Then the contractions picked up and became stronger. Anesthesia was there, concerned that the pain wasn't touched.
Oh, and DH left the room during the epidural to go visit our friend in ICU (young with brain tumor, I told him to go). He came back right after water broke. I was fine with it, but the pain had gotten bad, and at one point, I was alone, which freaked me out a little.
Nurse came back, saw that I was having more pain, and in a bored, nonchalant voice said "Well, I'm going to check your cervix again, see why we're having so much pain. Stranger things have happened, maybe you're starting to progress..." [checks cervix - looks surprised] "Okay, now we're at 9, almost 10. We're going to start pushing in about fifteen minutes."
Meanwhile, pain hasn't been touched, anesthesia at my bedside giving me more meds. All of a sudden pain went from 10 to 6 to 3 to GONE. I felt NOTHING from the hips down.
10pm - started pushing. It was hilarious, because DH was right there holding back one leg, gloves on, watching everything that happened. Nurse was on the other leg (my OB had three of us laboring at once). Pushed maybe ten separate times. Very strange sensation to push and not FEEL it.
1045pm - crowning. Now pushing for delivery. Thank god I couldn't feel it. Pushed a couple times, DH said that she had started to cone her head, and I was just about to tear and the OB did the episiotomy (I'm glad she did, we had discussed that), and one more push...
1104pm - out came Madeline. She had the cord wrapped tightly around her neck, so the OB clamped it immediately and cut it. She was a little purple, but pinked right up, getting an APGAR of 9 and 9. DH got to cut the remainder of the cord, OB stitched me up, and there we are!
Biggest problem with delivery - the epidural. They removed it about 1130, once she was done stitching, but the effects didn't fully go away till 4am. It was so strange, I would look down and move my feet back and forth, but couldn't FEEL that I was doing it. I was like a paraplegic. Not fun.
Biggest problem AFTER - the hemorrhoids. Seriously, they are so bad at this point, I'm actually saying, "You know, I'm good with this perfect one child." DH says that as I pushed, they just kept popping out, and they are the size of PLUMS. Not kidding. And TMI, I know. But, holy mother of GOD, they are painful. Episiotomy didn't bother me at all till yesterday when I sneezed really hard (allergy season). So I am now straddling an ice pack. DH and I are laughing that between him being there for every second of delivery, my walking around with ice on my woohaa and my hemorrhoids, plus with him watching me pump last night, if he ever finds me attractive again it will be incredible, LOL.
Anyway, that's our birth story. Madeline is fussing, and I've got one enormous left breast, so I'm going to go try and feed her. More later!
one of those days!
Katherine! What a day Toby had! Silly little boy! So far all we've got are a couple of small bruises thankfully.
haha lol lol... 
